


Glup Shitto Joins the Rebellion

by waxscoralpants



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Movie: Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Origin Story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-15 14:00:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28814556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/waxscoralpants/pseuds/waxscoralpants
Summary: An unexpected interruption to his day sets Glup on a path he didn't expect.
Kudos: 3





	Glup Shitto Joins the Rebellion

**Author's Note:**

> Decided to celebrate Glup getting his own show by writing my take on his origin story. Hope you enjoy!

_In conclusion, it was Emperor Palpatine’s appeal to the common citizen that allowed him to claim emergency power. While force can be said to be effective in certain circumstances, more often true power can be attributed to a politician's willingness to speak to the concerns of their people. We can see, from this example, the ways that Palpatine drew from the experiences of his past to create a persona that would convince the average person of his qualifications. This is what granted his position stability._

Vader finished reading and put the datapad down. The author of the essay, this Glup Shitto, was clearly not a brilliant writer, but its contents betrayed access to information on Palpatine not available to the general public. Shitto might be, Vader thought, in possession of the very information he was looking for. It merited further investigation. Vader decided to send a message to his most reliable bounty hunter.

****

Glup enjoyed his walks to and from the government buildings. While the dirt paths between the underwater city and Naboo’s capital were well maintained, the lush greenery and trees made it feel as if he were travelling through a native space, untouched by the planet’s inhabitants. The walk was always peaceful, and it gave Glup time to think on his lessons and his role within the Human-Gungan friendship committee.

Today, Glup was occupied by reflections on the latest chapter of _Basic Principles of Democratic Diplomacy, by Rugor Nass,_ the textbook assigned to all the students in the committee. He had just read principle number forty-two: _all effective diplomats understand that each party is only trying to negotiate what is best for their people_. Glup thought this a good principle, but wondered what one should do if one group’s interest was in harming another. Perhaps he would ask one of the mentors on the committee.

Lost in thought, Glup failed to notice the man approach and so was quite surprised to find a blaster pointed at his face.

“You there, Gungan! Hands up!”

Glup often saw Imperial Stormtroopers in the capital, and so he knew that when someone pointed a blaster at you, you did what they said. He raised his long arms skyward, though he couldn’t help but notice the man was no trooper. In tarnished green armour, the man displayed none of the markers of a soldier in uniform.

“Turn around!” The voice that commanded Glup was garbled through the mask, but he was fairly sure it was human. Glup did as he was told and realized he had stopped breathing. He took in a shaky breath as the man pulled his arms down and behind his back. Glup heard a click and felt a pair of cuffs on his wrist and his pulsed quickened. _Disa not good,_ he thought. A blunt object was pressed into his back and the man continued issuing commands.

“Walk forward.” Forward, in this case, being off the path and into the trees. Glup didn’t like the idea of going into the wilderness with this man, too aware that no one would know to come and rescue him, but he didn’t know what else to do with what he assumed was a blaster pressed into his spine. He remembered principal number seventeen: _it is inevitable that you will sometimes have to accept a proposition that does not benefit you. Remember to stay optimistic and watch for opportunities to negotiate later._ Taking a deep breath, Glup began to walk, the man following just a step behind.

The woods were not too crowded, but the earth was soft and springy and Glup stumbled a few times during the journey. Once, when he took a few moments to regain his balance, the man jammed the gun into his lower back.

“Get moving.” He didn’t sound angry just firm, and Glup didn’t want to find out what the man would do if his directions weren’t followed.

Soon they arrived at a small clearing where a ship had been parked. Behind Glup the man stopped and the ship’s ramp descended, presumably in response to something he had done.

“Up.” Glup gulped at the command. He knew his chances of returning safely home would diminish if he left the planet, but he couldn’t see any other options. He began climbing the ramp.

The interior of the ship was cramped and cluttered. The man clearly spent quite a lot of time in space as clothes and other personal items were tucked into every possible nook. Both seats were clear, however, so Glup plopped down into what was clearly a chair for a passenger. Sitting was awkward with his arms cuffed behind him, but he got as comfortable as he could.

The man began to settle in himself as the ramp closed back up. He stowed his blaster, clearly unconcerned with anything Glup might try.

Glup, on the other hand, was far from unconcerned, and the absence of the blaster had him feeling more confident. Principle number five: _the more information you have, the better equipped you are to take action and make decisions._ Glup decided he had nothing to lose by speaking up,

“Sir, would yousa tell me where we are goen?” Just saying the words made Glup nervous. He was met with silence, though, and he started to think the man was ignoring him. He watched him adjusting the controls of the ship and resigned himself to a silent trip.

“Anoat Sector.” The man flipped one more switch and the ship came to life, rumbling underneath them. “Bespin.”

Bespin wasn’t too far from Naboo. Glup didn’t know very much about space travel, but based on what he had overheard at the capital, he thought it was only one light speed jump away.

“And why are yousa bringen me there?” Glup couldn’t imagine what would cause someone to go such lengths to get him.

“Bounty.” With that, the ship left the ground, flying up to leave the atmosphere.

Glup was stunned into silence. He wasn’t just wanted by this man, he was wanted by someone who was willing to _pay_ to have him brought to them. It just didn’t make sense. Glup was brought out this train of thought by the bounty hunter speaking again,

“Is your name really _Glup Shitto_?” Even through the helmet, he sounded like he thought the idea was ridiculous.

“Glup is a family name. It has been passed down through generations.” Glup had always been proud of his name and liked to think he was doing his ancestors proud with his work in the government.

“Well.” The bounty hunter punched something into the navigation system, “That name might end with you today.” He pressed one last button and the ship lurched into light speed. Glup and the man spent the rest of the journey in silence.

****

Glup found himself seated in what he recognized as a conference room. He and the bounty hunter had been ushered through the city by troopers and, even stressed as he was, Glup had taken a moment to wonder how someone went about building a city in the clouds. Now he sat to the side of a large table, the man standing behind him. Glup couldn’t have said how long they waited, but it felt like a long time, his mind spiraling with ideas of who would come for him.

The reality ended up being much worse than he imagined, however, as when the door finally opened, the unmistakable figure of Darth Vader stalked into the room. In that moment, Glup felt nothing. He was distantly aware of Vader moving towards them and the two men talking, but he processed none of it. After a few moments, the bounty hunter bent down to remove the cuffs from Glup’s wrists. Then Glup watched him accept something from Vader and exit the room, leaving Glup alone with the sith. This brought Glup back to his senses and his fear made itself known. Glup’s chest felt tight and he struggled to breath as Vader sat down in one of the chairs opposite him and appeared to consider Glup. Glup tried to get himself under control as he waited for Vader to speak. He did not have to wait long.

“What do you know about Emperor Palpatine’s past?” Vader asked, sounding robotic through the mask. Glup could not have anticipated the question and his nerves had him stumbling to respond.  
“Well, uh, hesa grew up on Naboo and-”

“Yes I know that.” Vader cut him off, irritated. “I’m interested in information I’m not already aware of.”

Glup didn’t know how to give Vader what he wanted, but thought he would have to please the sith to get out of the encounter alive. He thought of principal number thirty-six: _when you are unable to do for another party what they would like, it is best to be upfront about what you can do, rather than making promises you cannot keep._

“Mesa don’t know what information would besa new to yousa, sir.” Glup gulped in the face of Vader’s emotionless mask, “Perhaps yousa could ask more specific questions.”

Vader appeared to consider the request. “Do you know of any weaknesses he has; anything from his past that could undermine his position as emperor?” The question was delivered calmly, but the rasping sound of the suit made Vader seem like he could dissolve into anger at any moment.

“Well, hesa, um.” Glup had to think for a moment to remember anything that might be of use to the Sith. “His father was put in prison when hesa was young for, um, having spice.” Glup waited a moment to see if Vader would react. He didn’t so Glup carried on with something else, “There was also a period of time when hesa was senator where nobody knew where hesa was.”

“Oh? When was this?” Vader leaned forward and Glup scrambled to remember the details.

“The year after hesa was elected. Hesa disappeared for about six months. When hesa came backen, hesa said it was illness but,” Glup paused as Vader stared intently at him, “if hesa was sick, why not sayen so before?”

“Are there any theories about where he was?” Vader’s hands were clenched into fists where they rested on top of the table, the only indication that the information meant anything to him. Glup took a deep breath,

“Well some people thought that-” Vader’s head whipped around and Glup fell silent. A moment later there was what sounded like an explosion in the distance. Vader sat motionless, facing the door and then abruptly stood.

“Stay here.” With that command, Vader swiftly went to the door, cape billowing behind him, and opened it. He walked out, leaving Glup alone for the first time since the ordeal had begun.

In this moment of solitude, Glup was able to collect himself and take stock of the situation. He was unguarded and unbound and there was some sort of disruption happening in the city which had distracted Vader’s attention. He did not know if there were troopers on the other side of the door. He would be taking a big risk if he disobeyed Vader. Trying to think through his options, he remembered principle number twenty-one: _when a lot is at stake, one must act quickly or risk the situation becoming worse due to inaction._ Well, that settled it.

Glup stood, legs shaking and moved towards the door. He found it unlocked and opened it slowly. Nothing happened. He poked his head out of the room, quickly looking left and right and found no one there. Not believing his luck, Glup started walking swiftly in what he thought was the opposite direction of the noise he had heard.

His guess was soon confirmed as he heard blaster fire from somewhere far behind him. Glup started moving faster. Turning a corner, he found himself amongst many humans moving in the same direction. He thought these must be the residents of the city. Emboldened by their actions, Glup started to run alongside them, though where to, he didn’t know.

The passageway he was in was crossed by many other hallways. Sprinting past one such path, he ran straight into a man, sending them both crashing to the floor. Scrambling to his knees, Glup saw that the man had been in possession of a camtono, the cylindrical device now rolling across the floor. Jumping up, Glup quickly scooped the camtono into his arms.

Turning around, he saw the man was now standing and he handed the object back to him. Taking it, the man nodded, and turned to keep moving. Glup followed.

After a few more twists and turns, Glup found himself in a hanger and watched as humans all around him started getting the ships up and running. It seemed they were evacuating the city. Glup saw the man with the camtono run directly to one ship where a human was already getting settled.

The man turned back to Glup, “Come on!” He gestured with his free arm, beckoning Glup toward the ship. Glup didn’t take any time to consider, just moved quickly to join him.

The ship was small, with a pilot’s seat and a small bench behind. Comfortable for one but big enough for two if necessary. Glup clamoured in after the man. They shared the bench, the man holding the camtono on his lap. Soon, the roof of the cockpit was descending to seal the space. Glup felt vibrations below him and the ship started to move toward the hangar’s exit. He held his breath, not believing his luck, and didn’t exhale until they were airborne, flying away from the city in the clouds and headed into space.

“My name’s Willrow.” Glup turned to see the man addressing him. “Willrow Hood. Sorry to make your acquaintance in such unfortunate circumstances.”

“Das okeyday.” Glup said, his relief leading him to use more Gunganese than he normally would. “Mesa name is Glup Shitto, thank yousa per the ride.”

Willrow laughed, “Of course! We wouldn’t want to leave anyone stranded in that mess, and this baby flies three.” Willrow considered Glup for a minute. “We’re headed to rendezvous with the Rebel fleet, but we can drop you off somewhere if you have a location in mind?”

Glup thought about the question. Where did he want to go? If he was honest with himself, he wanted to go home, but Vader was clearly interested in what he knew about the Emperor. If Vader had the means to kidnap him once, he could do it again. Glup didn’t want to put his family and the people of Naboo at risk.

And now that he had seen more of how the Empire was run, Glup wondered about the work he was doing in the government. Could Naboo have a true democracy with the Empire occupation? Darth Vader clearly had secrets from the Emperor and vice versa. Glup decided he didn’t want to be a part of a regime that operated through secrecy and lies. Principle number twelve: _If you have to keep your actions a secret from the people, it means you have made decisions that go against their interests._ Glup cared about democracy, and he wanted to work towards a galaxy where it was a real possibility. He realized he had made his decision.

“Nosa, I don’t want yousa to drop mesa somewhere.” He looked Willrow in the eyes. “Mesa will come to the Rebellion.” Glup realized he hadn’t asked if that was okay. “If, um, if yousa want me, dat is.”

Willrow laughed and thumped Glup on the back. “Of course we want you! Anyone who wants to help is more than welcome.” Glup smiled, and realized it was the first time he had done so all day. "Welcome to the Rebellion, Glup Shitto.”

_fin_


End file.
